Alfred Hitchcock, the ultimate “master of suspense” and thriller guru is one of the best directors of all time. His career spanned many decades, from talkies in the 1920s through the ‘70s. You can catch his film, I Confess, this Wednesday and Thursday during CAPA’s Summer Movie Series!

Here are some things you may not have known about the epic British director.

1. Hitchcock never won an Oscar for Best Director, despite being nominated five times. When the Academy finally awarded Hitchcock the esteemed Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award for lifetime achievement, his acceptance speech was just five words: “Thank you…very much indeed.”

2. Hitchcock was afraid of his own movies—and he was unable to sit through any of his acclaimed films!

3. Hitchcock did not take no for an answer. When the United Nations refused to allow him to film a North by Northwest scene in their building, Hitchcock did it anyway. He set up a secret film station across the street and had Cary Grant waltz right in. The people around him are not extras.

4. ‘Psycho’ was actually based on a book with the same name by Robert Bloch. To make sure the ending of the film remained a secret, Hitchcock bought the rights to the novel anonymously. Then, he covered all his bases by buying up copies of the novel already in bookstores. Even the cast didn’t know how it ended!

5. Hitchcock was creatively cost conscious. Instead of schlepping the whole cast and crew out to South Dakota for a scene in the woods. He planted 100 ponderosa pines on an MGM soundstage!

6. Hitchcock did his part in World War II by making propaganda films for the Allies. He assembled concentration camp footage for a documentary called “Memory of the Camps.” Shelved by the British government, it was finally released in the ‘80s.

7. One of his films is lost to history! Aside from a handful of production photos, all traces of The Mountain Eagle disappeared. Ironically, Hitchcock didn’t seem to care, calling it “a very bad movie.”

Enjoy our CAPA Summer Movie Series showing of I Confess this Wednesday, July 26, and Thursday, July 27, at 7:30pm nightly. Tickets are $5 at the door, or $30 for a strip of 10 tickets. The full movie schedule is available here.

Harold Lloyd may be less well known than Charlie Chaplin or Buster Keaton, but his film career was no less fascinating! Best known for his comedic flare and thrilling stunts, Lloyd practically invented the nerdy “boy-next-door” persona. Without further ado, here are five things you didn’t know about Harold Lloyd!

1. Lloyd’s most famous stunt was dangling above traffic off a clock on the side of a building. Actually, the clock was a set piece built on top of a Los Angeles building. The shot was then taken at an angle that makes it appear the activity in the background is far below Lloyd, when in reality, he was only feet above a mattress that would have broken any potential fall.

2. In 1913, Lloyd began his career as an extra, and got his big break when he befriended a fellow extra named Hal Roach. After receiving a large inheritance, Roach opened his own film company, and utilized Lloyd as the main actor in many of his films.

3. Lloyd made nearly 200 films over the course of his career in both the silent and “talkie” realms.

4. Lloyd did not allow his films to be shown on television, and had very strict rules about re-releasing them into theatres.

5. The kooky and dangerous stunts Lloyd was known for did eventually land him into trouble. A stunt involving him lighting a cigarette from a “trick” bomb ended with the loss of two fingers from his right hand. In future films, Lloyd wore a prosthetic glove to mask the injury.

Suzanne Lloyd, granddaughter of Harold Lloyd, will make a special appearance at both screenings of The Freshman!

Made possible through a grant from the Tom E. Daily Foundation, Ms. Lloyd will discuss the life and work of her grandfather, one of Hollywood’s earliest cinematic superstars, answering your questions and sharing home movies of the Lloyd family.

The 2017 CAPA Summer Movie Series will screen silent film The Freshman, with live accompaniment on the Ohio Theatre’s “Mighty Morton” theatre organ by featured organist Clark Wilson, on Friday and Saturday, July 21 and 22. For all the details, including a complete schedule, click here..

Beetlejuice is one of those beloved, quotable, hilariously creepy movies that you can’t tear your eyes away from. In fact, it’s so beloved that after failed attempts at a sequel in the ‘90s, talks of a potential sequel have recently emerged again!

To trigger your nostalgia and get you all hyped up for the CAPA Summer Movie Series screenings on July 12 and 13, here’s 10 fascinating, behind-the-scenes photos from Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice! Here we go!

1) Artist Ve Neil works on Beetlejuice’s iconic look that won the 1989 Academy Award for best makeup. Tim Burton said of the makeup, “I wanted to make them look cheap and purposely fake-looking.”

2) Here, set designers are sculpting the scary face that Adam Maitland dons to scare away the Deetzs.

3) Set designers sculpt the creepy snake that appears in the film.

4) Barbara Maitland’s scary face to attempt to chase off the new tenants of her home.

5) Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis jokingly pose together in costume on set.

6) Alec Baldwin and Winona Ryder on set together.

7) Winona Ryder posing with one of the monsters.

8) The crazy stop-animation that was required for so many of the scenes!

Enjoy our CAPA Summer Movie Series showing of Beetlejuice this Wednesday, July 12, and Thursday, July 13, at 7:30pm nightly. Tickets are $5 at the door, or $30 for a strip of 10 tickets. The full movie schedule is available here.

CAPA has received arts employment support from the Ohio Arts Council made possible by the National Endowment for the Arts through funds allocated from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.